Boston Must Provide More Drop-Boxes for the Election →

Communities of Color Are Particularly At Risk of Disenfranchisement  In an open letter issued to Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston's Election Department,  Lawyers for Civil Rights is urging the City of Boston to provide additional secure municipal drop-boxes in advance of the November election. Our experience with the September primary—during which Boston...

Election Protection Coalition Flags Vote-by-Mail Issues →

“Election Protection” Coalition Flags Vote-by-Mail Issues In Primary Election in Massachusetts  Seeks More Volunteers, Urges Election Officials To Fix Problems Before November Massachusetts experienced a momentous Primary Election with the inaugural roll-out of vote-by-mail (VBM) and the first extended early voting period for a Primary Election. As a result, the Bay...

Victory! Khmer Vote-By-Mail Applications →

Following Community Pressure, Secretary of Commonwealth Sends Out Khmer-Translated Vote-By-Mail Applications Bowing to public outcry and legal pressure, Secretary of Commonwealth William Galvin has reversed course, mailing out vote-by-mail applications translated into Khmer to voters in Lowell as required by law.  The applications – also in English and Spanish – began...

Volunteer for Election Protection →

Are you concerned about shenanigans on Election Day? Volunteer for non-partisan election protection! Lawyers for Civil Rights and our community allies run non-partisan election protection in Massachusetts. In the 2016 election, we partnered with over 500 volunteers, including lawyers, college students, and people like you. This November, election protection will be even more critical. We...

State Fails to Send Khmer Vote-By-Mail Applications →

Civil Rights Organizations Call On Secretary of Commonwealth To Send Khmer-Translated Vote-By-Mail Applications Despite Legal Requirements, And Representations To Supreme Judicial Court, Galvin Fails To Mail Translated Applications Lawyers for Civil Rights and the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA) today called upon Secretary of Commonwealth William Galvin to immediately implement the emergency State...

Undocumented Immigrants to Trump: We Are People and We Count →

CIVIL RIGHTS AND IMMIGRANT JUSTICE GROUPS ANNOUNCE FEDERAL COURT CHALLENGE TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S EXCLUSION OF UNDOCUMENTED INDIVIDUALS FROM CENSUS COUNT Undocumented Immigrants to Trump: We Are People and We Count In response to the Trump Administration’s racist memorandum excluding undocumented immigrants from the Census 2020 count, Lawyers for Civil Rights has filed...

Victory! Massachusetts Starts Sending Mail-In Ballot Applications →

Following an emergency petition filed in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) by seven Black, Latinx, and Asian-American voters, Common Cause Massachusetts, and MassVOTE, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin has started sending mail-in ballot applications to voters. The case, Bertin v. Galvin, was filed by Lawyers...

Minority Voters Sue To Secure Mail-In Ballot Applications →

Minority Voters and Voting Rights Advocates Sue Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin Over Refusal to Send Mail-In Ballot Applications Today, seven Black, Latinx and Asian-American voters joined Common Cause Massachusetts and MassVOTE in filing a petition in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court seeking an order requiring Secretary of the...

Drawing District Lines In Lowell: Protecting The Right To Vote For Communities Of Color →

Lowell is changing to a district-based electoral system for City Council and School Committee following the settlement of a federal Voting Rights Act case that alleged that the City’s former electoral system illegally diluted the vote of the City’s communities of color.  District lines will be drawn in Summer 2020...

Coronavirus Pandemic Response →

Intake The demand for our free legal services has increased exponentially since the start of the public health and economic crisis.  Since March, we have received over 350 requests for legal assistance (intakes). The estimated demographic breakdown is as follows: 55% Black; 25% Latinx; 10% Asian American; and 10% other....

Coronavirus Legal Warriors →

As legal first responders, at a time when many doors are closing, we are opening ours wider. In response to an unprecedented need, we're adding a new coronavirus legal warrior to our team. This expansion is critical to deepening and expanding free support for affected families, including help with unemployment...

Legal Responses to COVID-19 →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is launching a comprehensive legal and policy initiative across immigration, education, housing and the census to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our most vulnerable communities. Specifically, we are advocating to: Secure demographic and racial data on coronavirus infections and death. Stop immigration raids,...

2019 Annual Report →

Check out our latest work. Our 2019 year-in-review is available here: [pdf-embedder url="http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019-Annual-Report-DIGITAL.pdf" title="2019 Annual Report DIGITAL"]

Multi-Lingual Videos for Lowell Election →

Multi-Lingual Public Education Videos Released Before Vote On New Electoral System For Lowell, MA City To Change Voting System Following Settlement Of Federal Voting Rights Lawsuit As part of a landmark settlement of a federal Voting Rights Act case brought by Asian American and Latinx residents of Lowell, Massachusetts, the...

Ropes & Gray Justice Fellowship →

Ropes & Gray Launches Justice Fellowship at Lawyers for Civil Rights Legal Fellowship Builds On Successful Pro Bono Partnership in Landmark Voting Rights Case Global law firm Ropes & Gray today announced the creation of the Ropes & Gray Justice Fellowship at Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a Boston-based legal...

Census Citizenship Question Gets Blocked →

For Now, Census Citizenship Question Gets Blocked Handing civil rights and immigrants’ rights groups a victory, the U.S. Supreme Court this morning ruled that the Trump Administration’s rationale for including a citizenship question on the 2020 Census “seems to have been contrived,” and sent the matter back to the Commerce...

Census Art Contest →

Click here for more information, including submission guidelines. La información en español sobre el concurso de arte estudiantil está disponible aquí.

Settlement of Federal Voting Rights Act Case Against Lowell, Mass. →

Asian-American and Latino Voters Announce Settlement of Voting Rights Case The diverse coalition of Latino and Asian-American voters that filed a groundbreaking federal voting rights suit against the City of Lowell alleging that the municipal election system illegally dilutes the vote of communities of color announced today that the parties...